When I saw the “Oliver+S Little Things to Sew” book, I had to get it and it’s almost been a year and I’ve only now completed a few projects.  The messenger bag pattern comes in two sizes: small and large.  I made the small one (up to age 5) and supposedly the large can fit up to an adult.

I ended up breaking the promise to myself (to not buy more fabric) in order to make the messenger bag.  But hey, I didn’t have any canvas/home dec weight fabric! So there.  😉  I love the colors on the main fabric… makes it very playful and active.

My son’s really into airplanes so I used an airplane print for the lining although the color scheme doesn’t seem to really match the outside main fabric.  I would think it would’ve looked better with a lime green or orange lining, but it’s not bad and my son LOVES it.

The bag has pockets for pens/pencils inside the front lining as well as a bigger pocket for… an airplane?

There’s also two good size pockets in the front with flaps and pockets on both sides on the outside of the bag (below the straps).  I think next time I would want to makes those outside side pockets bigger and add elastic to the top so a small water bottle would be able to fit.

I had some difficulty finding the strap adjuster/slider for the straps.  I went to Joann’s and they didn’t have any… only buckles.  I went online and tried to find silver ones but they were out of stock!  So I went to Hancock Fabrics and found these black ones.  I had imagined my finished product with silver sliders so was very hesitant to buy the black plastic ones… but they actually look good.  I think the black accent colors on the fabric complement the black for the strap sliders.  YAY!

and here’s my son loving his new bag!  He said “It’s just like daddy’s!”